Not getting swept by either team was a win for me. It was a fine week. I don’t think the Royals are as good as either the Yankees or the Dodgers. But who freaking expected them to be either? The comeback win against the Yankees on Thursday was the biggest win of the year in hindesight.
Also, the Royals may have lost the series against the Dodgers but man the Dodgers took a beating. Losing the lefty the paid a bunch of money too (and I’ve seen him once…looked pretty darn nasty). And then yesterday with Betts breaking a bone in his hand. Of which….THANK GOD THE ROYALS DON’T PLAY THE DODGERS AGAIN. You know a the Dodgers are pissed and a fastball was going to be coming BWJ or Salvy’s way inside. You don’t break a star players hand without some sort of repercussion even in 2024 baseball.
It’s actually my greatest fear with this team. It’s one high and inside fastball on BWJ that can derail this whole thing. Nothing you can really control either but he’s such an important player for them.
Yep, if Bobby goes down, they're toast. I'd argue most teams lose an MVP candidate and they're toast, so it's not a mark against the Royals necessarily, but they'd be done.
I have to say that I'm not sure that's true. The fans were pissed, but there just isn't a lot of retaliation in baseball anymore. Nobody on the Dodgers think Altavilla came inside with the intention of putting Betts on the IL. If this was even as recently as 10-15 years ago, maybe, but it just feels like that doesn't really happen much anymore. Also, small note, but Yamamoto is a righty. He still looks nasty and that's a big loss for them. Guess it's time to trade them Brady Singer for Andy Pages.
I kinda figured you’d say that on the retaliation piece. IDK, I think for the most part it’s out of the game and for good reason. But when your star player goes down. I think it still around in that scenario. I know if BWJ went down on a rookie pitcher from that, I’d expect the royals to retaliate. But I’m also older now, and it’s a new game. We don’t have to worry about it at least in this scenario. What’s done is done unless we see them in the WS.
I've talked to a few players about it over the last few years and they all generally don't really hold that grudge. They understand it as long as it's not clearly intentional, especially with so much camaraderie within the game. And it's not like Altavilla is a rookie. Hell, he's probably played with a handful of guys on the Dodgers.
Singer for Pages makes a lot of sense now that you bring that up. It’s more a question of can they trade offense for another pitcher with Betts out. I’m sure they have plenty of prospects yet. But I’d be totally interested in Singer for Pages.
I still……still….still look at the Marlins as the most likely for either pitching or outfield help. But I’ve been saying that for 12 months now and nothing ever happens. So for whatever reason, they don’t match up.
David, I have been watching MLB since 1960 and I have never seen a play by a SS running with his back to home plate better than BWJ did. Also, the throw to Loftin was so unexpected. It hurt to give one away to the Dodgers. We hate the Dodgers in AZ! We should have Renfroe back soon and the Royals need to come up with something to protect his left foot. Need more consistency from both Nelson V. and Renfroe. The catch Melendez made in yesterday’s game was very good and his 12 pitch at bat with the grand slam was incredible. Maybe, it is beginning to change for the better for him! Go Royals!!!
I'm a youngster having only watched MLB since the mid 70s, but IMHO, nobody I've ever seen is better at dropping a shoulder and going back on pop-ups than BWJ.
Kenny, I remember going with my Dad to watch the Royals play the Orioles. Brooks Robinson rushed in on a swing squibber and threw a fast Royals runner out at first! My Dad stated that one play was worth the cost of admission!!!
That's awesome. I have many fine memories of Royals games from my childhood also. George Brett in the summer of '80..... Good lord, ive never seen anyone hit screaming line drives with greater frequency. Bo shattering his bat and hitting it 410 feet to dead center. The Mad Hungarian. Fun times....
I actually thought the boys looked pretty good against the dodgers. Yeah Yamamoto out early, but Glasnow was particularly nasty. Idk, maybe I was half dreaming on those late nights, but they had a legitimate chance of winning that series. Can't say the same about the Yankees
Yeah, I'd bet pretty hard against that. McArthur took over the closer's role when he was getting strikeouts and wasn't walking guys (still isn't walking guys). Long doesn't get strikeouts and walks way too many.
I’d actually probably bet neither are the closer next year. McArthur better chance than Long yet I agree. But it wouldn’t surprise me if someone else stepped up at all. McArthur has been fine. But he’s certainly not been great.
I agree with your assessment about the Royals being in a position to turn it on and get in the playoffs this year. They need some help before the trade deadline. For that matter, if they are going to bring in help, why not do it now and make themselves more competitive sooner rather than later. Could be the difference in making the playoffs or missing them. Gives them more time to compete as a team with a better bullpen and outfield offense.
The answer to the question of why not do it now is that it takes two teams to make a trade and there's a standoff. If there was a trade to be made today, the Royals would make it. I would not be surprised at any point if we get news of a deal happening.
Funny, over the weekend I was thinking about your question of when do you *expect* this to be a playoff team, and I came to the same conclusion. I would be disappointed now if they don't make it. The trade deadline can change things, but I think they're better than the mushy middle of the AL (Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Tampa, and I guess Texas and Houston). I might regret saying it, but I think they're better than the Twins, too. Or at least more consistent. So to me, they should finish ahead of all of them. Need to pick up some head-to-head wins against Minnesota, though.
There a couple of teams that scare me. I don’t think Toronto is doing anything this year. So they are out to me. But the Rangers are behind us and they scare me. Obviously, a little bit of a WS hangover is happening. But they are supposedly getting back Sherzer, and DeGrom later this year. I’m skeptical, but they have enough talent to be a problem. We’ll see what happens though. The Twins are right behind them now after a terrible start. They were expected to win the division for a reason.
That's fair. Texas does have plenty of talent but just don't seem to be putting it together. I would say that while the Royals have not done well head-to-head against the Twins, they've been better than Minnesota against everyone else. Need to figure out a way to split the last 6 games with them so they can't make up any more ground.
Texas concerns me because they're getting Scherzer back and I imagine deGrom too at some point, though who knows on that? That's a good team with really good players. They're scary. But yeah, I think the Royals are one of the six best teams in the AL.
"I’d also argue the six-seed will be better than the five"
Because I totally agree. However, I was bummed to see (in the new format) that the Wild Card round has ALL 3 GAMES in the "home" field (seeds #3 & #4). While I am thrilled with ANY playoff seed, assuming they get the #5 or #6 seeds (the Orioles/Yankees will probably have the best records in baseball), I can't believe the lower-seeded Wild Card team doesn't get ANY home games unless they make it past the first round!
The whole point was to incentivize winning the division and I think they did that. They also hedged against two teams in one division being really good by giving the four seed home field advantage too. I don’t mind it.
I love that you pointed out that MJ had a great at bat even before he hit the home run. What a fantastic battle - Treinen only has 2 pitches but they're both really nasty.
Your description of Hogan Harris made me shudder. He seems like the kind of random guy the Royals have made look like a Cy Young candidate in the past. Hopefully that won't be the case this time.
Nope, no update. I don't know if he's been throwing or not, but assuming he hasn't, even if he wanted to come back today, it'd be at least a month and maybe more. And he's not coming back today.
They’ve survived this tough stretch in good shape. Now it will come down to avoiding significant injuries that would expose their lack of depth I’m interested to see how they approach the trade deadline and the draft. They are still very short on any minor league position players who have a good shot to be above average major leaguers in the next couple of years.
Yeah, the position players haven't progressed all that much. Gavin Cross has been really good - .296/.374/.471 works - and Carter Jensen has been really good too, but the progression has been from guys like CJ Alexander who may or may not have a big league future. I wouldn't be surprised if they target some prospects in trades and take on big league salary to do it. But we'll see. They'll be aggressive.
Great content as usual, David. And thanks for always taking the time to respond in the comments. Reading through the comment section is almost as fun to me as the article. Also, for anyone interested, Jeff Passan has an awesome long writeup on BWJ that is the lead story on the ESPN MLB landing page right now.
Im a little nervous about the A's as well. That was a tough stretch and I wonder if that and the day off in the cali sunshine might slow them down a bit, but they certainly haven't shown signs of taking the foot off the gas so far this season.
So I am guessing you don't "expect" the playoffs yet? What would they have to do to get you there? Besides the Yankees and Dodgers, I don't think we completely know who teams are yet, lots still in the race that could go either way. A random, though knowledgeable, Detroit fan told me yesterday that he thought the royals will win the division, so there's that
Thanks for offering some perspective, because it’s been hard not to wail and moan as the Guardians keep on doing what they’re doing and the Twins are nipping at our heels. Oakland SHOULD be a reset, but I take nothing for granted.
Here's the crazy thing. The Royals went into the series against Cleveland four games out. They're now five games out after the toughest stretch of the season. I'd say that's pretty good.
Not getting swept by either team was a win for me. It was a fine week. I don’t think the Royals are as good as either the Yankees or the Dodgers. But who freaking expected them to be either? The comeback win against the Yankees on Thursday was the biggest win of the year in hindesight.
Also, the Royals may have lost the series against the Dodgers but man the Dodgers took a beating. Losing the lefty the paid a bunch of money too (and I’ve seen him once…looked pretty darn nasty). And then yesterday with Betts breaking a bone in his hand. Of which….THANK GOD THE ROYALS DON’T PLAY THE DODGERS AGAIN. You know a the Dodgers are pissed and a fastball was going to be coming BWJ or Salvy’s way inside. You don’t break a star players hand without some sort of repercussion even in 2024 baseball.
It’s actually my greatest fear with this team. It’s one high and inside fastball on BWJ that can derail this whole thing. Nothing you can really control either but he’s such an important player for them.
Yep, if Bobby goes down, they're toast. I'd argue most teams lose an MVP candidate and they're toast, so it's not a mark against the Royals necessarily, but they'd be done.
I have to say that I'm not sure that's true. The fans were pissed, but there just isn't a lot of retaliation in baseball anymore. Nobody on the Dodgers think Altavilla came inside with the intention of putting Betts on the IL. If this was even as recently as 10-15 years ago, maybe, but it just feels like that doesn't really happen much anymore. Also, small note, but Yamamoto is a righty. He still looks nasty and that's a big loss for them. Guess it's time to trade them Brady Singer for Andy Pages.
Ah, I’m thinking of the Cubs Japanese pitcher then. The guy I saw was a lefty for sure. I must be thinking of the wrong Japanese player.
Imanaga is nasty too. I wish the Royals had gotten in on him.
I kinda figured you’d say that on the retaliation piece. IDK, I think for the most part it’s out of the game and for good reason. But when your star player goes down. I think it still around in that scenario. I know if BWJ went down on a rookie pitcher from that, I’d expect the royals to retaliate. But I’m also older now, and it’s a new game. We don’t have to worry about it at least in this scenario. What’s done is done unless we see them in the WS.
I've talked to a few players about it over the last few years and they all generally don't really hold that grudge. They understand it as long as it's not clearly intentional, especially with so much camaraderie within the game. And it's not like Altavilla is a rookie. Hell, he's probably played with a handful of guys on the Dodgers.
Singer for Pages makes a lot of sense now that you bring that up. It’s more a question of can they trade offense for another pitcher with Betts out. I’m sure they have plenty of prospects yet. But I’d be totally interested in Singer for Pages.
I think Bobby Miller is back next week and Clayton Kershaw is throwing and should be back in a few weeks, so I doubt they do too much, honestly.
I still……still….still look at the Marlins as the most likely for either pitching or outfield help. But I’ve been saying that for 12 months now and nothing ever happens. So for whatever reason, they don’t match up.
David, I have been watching MLB since 1960 and I have never seen a play by a SS running with his back to home plate better than BWJ did. Also, the throw to Loftin was so unexpected. It hurt to give one away to the Dodgers. We hate the Dodgers in AZ! We should have Renfroe back soon and the Royals need to come up with something to protect his left foot. Need more consistency from both Nelson V. and Renfroe. The catch Melendez made in yesterday’s game was very good and his 12 pitch at bat with the grand slam was incredible. Maybe, it is beginning to change for the better for him! Go Royals!!!
It was an incredible play, but I'd encourage you to go look at Escobar's play in Houston in 2016. Splitting hairs, but it was incredible.
As for Renfroe and the toe, I think the fact that he fouled two straight balls off it and it didn't break says they're in good shape there.
I'm a youngster having only watched MLB since the mid 70s, but IMHO, nobody I've ever seen is better at dropping a shoulder and going back on pop-ups than BWJ.
On the whole, he's definitely one of the very best. I can't think of anyone better personally.
Kenny, I remember going with my Dad to watch the Royals play the Orioles. Brooks Robinson rushed in on a swing squibber and threw a fast Royals runner out at first! My Dad stated that one play was worth the cost of admission!!!
That's awesome. I have many fine memories of Royals games from my childhood also. George Brett in the summer of '80..... Good lord, ive never seen anyone hit screaming line drives with greater frequency. Bo shattering his bat and hitting it 410 feet to dead center. The Mad Hungarian. Fun times....
I actually thought the boys looked pretty good against the dodgers. Yeah Yamamoto out early, but Glasnow was particularly nasty. Idk, maybe I was half dreaming on those late nights, but they had a legitimate chance of winning that series. Can't say the same about the Yankees
David.
I think Long could be the new closer in the sky. He credentials are as good as MacArthur
when he got the job.
Yeah, I'd bet pretty hard against that. McArthur took over the closer's role when he was getting strikeouts and wasn't walking guys (still isn't walking guys). Long doesn't get strikeouts and walks way too many.
I’d actually probably bet neither are the closer next year. McArthur better chance than Long yet I agree. But it wouldn’t surprise me if someone else stepped up at all. McArthur has been fine. But he’s certainly not been great.
I'd bet neither are the closer on August 1.
It seems Q has been pretty wise lately just playing the matchups and not really giving any relievers set roles.
Really all year. He adjusted fast on the eighth when Schreiber started to struggle.
I hope and believe you're right.
I agree with your assessment about the Royals being in a position to turn it on and get in the playoffs this year. They need some help before the trade deadline. For that matter, if they are going to bring in help, why not do it now and make themselves more competitive sooner rather than later. Could be the difference in making the playoffs or missing them. Gives them more time to compete as a team with a better bullpen and outfield offense.
The answer to the question of why not do it now is that it takes two teams to make a trade and there's a standoff. If there was a trade to be made today, the Royals would make it. I would not be surprised at any point if we get news of a deal happening.
Funny, over the weekend I was thinking about your question of when do you *expect* this to be a playoff team, and I came to the same conclusion. I would be disappointed now if they don't make it. The trade deadline can change things, but I think they're better than the mushy middle of the AL (Boston, Detroit, Toronto, Tampa, and I guess Texas and Houston). I might regret saying it, but I think they're better than the Twins, too. Or at least more consistent. So to me, they should finish ahead of all of them. Need to pick up some head-to-head wins against Minnesota, though.
There a couple of teams that scare me. I don’t think Toronto is doing anything this year. So they are out to me. But the Rangers are behind us and they scare me. Obviously, a little bit of a WS hangover is happening. But they are supposedly getting back Sherzer, and DeGrom later this year. I’m skeptical, but they have enough talent to be a problem. We’ll see what happens though. The Twins are right behind them now after a terrible start. They were expected to win the division for a reason.
That's fair. Texas does have plenty of talent but just don't seem to be putting it together. I would say that while the Royals have not done well head-to-head against the Twins, they've been better than Minnesota against everyone else. Need to figure out a way to split the last 6 games with them so they can't make up any more ground.
Texas concerns me because they're getting Scherzer back and I imagine deGrom too at some point, though who knows on that? That's a good team with really good players. They're scary. But yeah, I think the Royals are one of the six best teams in the AL.
I'm glad you pointed this out this fact:
"I’d also argue the six-seed will be better than the five"
Because I totally agree. However, I was bummed to see (in the new format) that the Wild Card round has ALL 3 GAMES in the "home" field (seeds #3 & #4). While I am thrilled with ANY playoff seed, assuming they get the #5 or #6 seeds (the Orioles/Yankees will probably have the best records in baseball), I can't believe the lower-seeded Wild Card team doesn't get ANY home games unless they make it past the first round!
The whole point was to incentivize winning the division and I think they did that. They also hedged against two teams in one division being really good by giving the four seed home field advantage too. I don’t mind it.
Yeah, but: I want to sell my tickets!
That is definitely the downside.
The Yankees lead the entire MLB in both runs scored and runs allowed, so yeah. They're pretty good....
Yeah, they're legit.
I love that you pointed out that MJ had a great at bat even before he hit the home run. What a fantastic battle - Treinen only has 2 pitches but they're both really nasty.
Your description of Hogan Harris made me shudder. He seems like the kind of random guy the Royals have made look like a Cy Young candidate in the past. Hopefully that won't be the case this time.
Ha, he definitely is that guy. But they've also hit those guys this year, so I guess we'll see.
Thanks for the assessment of the schedule. Any update on jordan lyles? His return or trade?
Thanks in advance
Nope, no update. I don't know if he's been throwing or not, but assuming he hasn't, even if he wanted to come back today, it'd be at least a month and maybe more. And he's not coming back today.
They’ve survived this tough stretch in good shape. Now it will come down to avoiding significant injuries that would expose their lack of depth I’m interested to see how they approach the trade deadline and the draft. They are still very short on any minor league position players who have a good shot to be above average major leaguers in the next couple of years.
Yeah, the position players haven't progressed all that much. Gavin Cross has been really good - .296/.374/.471 works - and Carter Jensen has been really good too, but the progression has been from guys like CJ Alexander who may or may not have a big league future. I wouldn't be surprised if they target some prospects in trades and take on big league salary to do it. But we'll see. They'll be aggressive.
Great content as usual, David. And thanks for always taking the time to respond in the comments. Reading through the comment section is almost as fun to me as the article. Also, for anyone interested, Jeff Passan has an awesome long writeup on BWJ that is the lead story on the ESPN MLB landing page right now.
Thanks, Scott. And yes, that was a great article.
Thanks for the heads-up on the Passan/Bobby article. I probably wouldn't have known about it otherwise.
- A Fellow Scott
Ok.
Thanks
Im a little nervous about the A's as well. That was a tough stretch and I wonder if that and the day off in the cali sunshine might slow them down a bit, but they certainly haven't shown signs of taking the foot off the gas so far this season.
So I am guessing you don't "expect" the playoffs yet? What would they have to do to get you there? Besides the Yankees and Dodgers, I don't think we completely know who teams are yet, lots still in the race that could go either way. A random, though knowledgeable, Detroit fan told me yesterday that he thought the royals will win the division, so there's that
I don't expect it yet, but I'll be disappointed if they don't make it. I'll probably expect it at the break if things go well before then.
Thanks for offering some perspective, because it’s been hard not to wail and moan as the Guardians keep on doing what they’re doing and the Twins are nipping at our heels. Oakland SHOULD be a reset, but I take nothing for granted.
I’m hoping MJ will have a stellar series.
Here's the crazy thing. The Royals went into the series against Cleveland four games out. They're now five games out after the toughest stretch of the season. I'd say that's pretty good.
That does help me not freak out!